86390

Caught on video, charged with murder

EDWARDSVILLE — A man accused of beating a fellow inmate to death was upset because of a dispute over television, a court document states.

“One witness has been interviewed and indicated to authorities that, based on his observations, Terrence Lee struck (the victim) several times with his hand or fist and that Lee was agitated about a television in the jail,” according to an affidavit submitted in a request for a search warrant.

Terrence T. Lee, 32, whose address is listed as the Madison County Jail, was indicted Thursday on two counts of first-degree murder for the beating death of John Everett Henderson Newsome. He was already in jail awaiting trial on charges from July 24, 2014, of four counts of first-degree murder, a count of attempted first-degree murder, a count of armed robbery and a count of aggravated kidnapping.

Lee is also representing himself on a previous charge of aggravated battery, which also allegedly occurred this year in the jail. He is represented by a public defender in a 2014 aggravated battery charge an in the 2014 first-degree murder charges. He has been granted several delays in the 2014 murder case.

The different murder charges in each case are different theories of the same act. Lee has been granted several delays in the 2014 murder case.

The incident was caught on video. Lee was indicted Thursday and pleaded not guilty before Associate Judge Neil Schroeder. He declared he will represent himself.

The statement says that Newsome was actually bunking in a day room of the jail and that Newsome entered the day room, followed by Lee, who was in a nearby cell.

Newsome is seen walking out of camera view toward the television, then leaving the day room and returning to his cell. Newsome then walked out of the camera view toward the television. Lee than again came out of his cell, walked out of view of the camera toward the television, and went back to his cell.

“This cycle of events happened multiple times,” the affidavit states. “The last time Lee entered the day room an altercation occurred. Lee is seen making aggressive physical gestures. No movement is observed on the part of Newsome,” the affidavit states.

The document states that Lee stood over Newsome and punched him. He then paced back and forth for a few minutes, then punched Newsome several more times.

The document was submitted by an officer with the Illinois State Police, which has assumed the criminal investigation. The officer was seeking a search warrant to determine Lee’s height and weight, which may be part of the evidence.

“Based on my training and experience, said height and weight could aid law enforcement in determining the amount of force that was used to inflict injuries on the victim,” the officer states in the affidavit.

Lee has a record of felony convictions dating to 2002. He has been convicted of escape, assault on a law enforcement officer, possession of a controlled substance, armed violence to an employee of an employee of the Missouri Department of Corrections.

He was accused of the May 19 fatal shooting of Kenneth Deal during a robbery. He is also accused of attempted first-degree murder of a Madison police officer.

Lee is also accused of armed robbery for allegedly taking marijuana from Deal and aggravated kidnapping for confining Deal against his will. He is being held without bail.

Lead Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Mudge said prosecutors are interested in bringing the case to trial as soon as possible. The trial date on the most recent charge may come before the trial on the previous murder charge that was lodged on July 24, 2014.